Chemical Profile of Elements in the Stingless Bee Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) from Sites with Distinct Anthropogenic Activities.
Sintia Emmanuelle Andrade de SantanaJosé Eduardo SerrãoCarlos Alfredo Lopes de CarvalhoPaulo Barros de Abreu JúniorAna Maria WaldschmidtPublished in: Biological trace element research (2023)
Stingless bees are pollinators in forests and crops that, during foraging, may be exposed to several environmental xenobiotics, including metallic elements. This study evaluated the presence of magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), and lead (Pb) over the body surface of the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris visiting areas with different anthropogenic activity levels. The analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/XEDS) and all tested elements were identified. Lead was the most abundant element in all samples, whereas Mn had the lowest abundance. High amounts of Cu and Zn were detected in the areas with metallurgic industries. The presence of metals on the body surface of this stingless bee varied according to the level of human activities in the studied areas.
Keyphrases
- electron microscopy
- metal organic framework
- heavy metals
- oxide nanoparticles
- health risk assessment
- aqueous solution
- high resolution
- health risk
- risk assessment
- human health
- endothelial cells
- climate change
- transition metal
- drinking water
- single molecule
- room temperature
- ionic liquid
- gas chromatography mass spectrometry
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- solid phase extraction
- gas chromatography
- mass spectrometry
- microbial community